Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1078 Is it shameful to earn your own living?

Su Yue had come today for the wedding of Prince Yu's mansion, and she couldn't let the Fifth Princess think that she was neglecting her sisters, so she hurriedly explained, "My cousin prefers quiet, and I also have a few close female friends here, so I asked my cousin to stay and have some snacks. I'll go and say hello to my friends first. If the princess misunderstands, it's my oversight."

He Yinuo looked at her with amusement. One minute she was saying her cousin was opportunistic, the next she was saying her cousin preferred quiet. She really let her say whatever she wanted. Too lazy to pay attention to Su Yue anymore, He Yinuo turned to Su Xing and said, "You continue solving the problem. I want to see what clever method you have."

Su Xing obeyed and drew two lines on the paper.

"Princess, please look. Actually, the number of people and the price of the sheep are fixed in this problem. So we can assume that the number of people is fixed. With so many people, if each person pays five, it's five times the price. If there's any shortfall, we add it up. If each person pays seven, it's seven times the price. If there's any shortfall, we add it up again. Both sides are equal, which is equal to the price of the sheep. By calculating in this way, we can find out the number of people. Finally, we substitute the number of people into the calculation to find the price of the sheep."

Su Xing used a combination of numerical and graphical methods to easily solve the problem. He Yinuo opened her eyes wide and praised, "Your method is both intuitive and simple. If I encounter a problem like this again, I won't have to rack my brains to calculate it."

She had someone collect the paper Su Xing had written, so they could take it back and copy it for He Xiaobao and He Xiaoliu.

"I didn't expect you to be so good at math and have such beautiful handwriting." He Yinuo looked at Su Xing: "Did you have a teacher to help you practice?"

Before Su Xing could answer, Su Yue chuckled and said, "Princess, you don't know this. After my uncle passed away, my cousin and aunt lived with us. They were entirely supported by the Su family. Where would we get the extra money to hire a tutor? The reason my cousin can still write so well is simply because she writes a lot. My cousin copies books for the bookstore every day, earning twenty or thirty coins per book. Not only can she earn a little money, but she can also practice her calligraphy."

Su Yue's words, at first glance, seemed to be praising Su Xing's diligence, but in reality, they were implying that she was poor and stingy.

Everyone present was a shrewd little man; how could they not understand?

Especially when Su Yue said this in front of the most favored and wealthiest fifth princess, Su Xing was directly reduced to nothing.

Su Xing's ears turned slightly red. She glanced nervously at He Yinuo, afraid that He Yinuo would look down on her because of these few words.

"Oh? So Miss Su's life is so hard? I've only heard people say that some poor scholars make a living by copying books for others, but I never thought that Miss Su would also have to do this kind of work."

"Yes, which of our daughters isn't pampered and spoiled as they grow up? Miss Su is so young and she has to put so much effort into earning money... and her life is like this."

"Say less, didn't you see that Miss Su's face is red? But it's no wonder Miss Su is ashamed. The Fifth Princess is a precious daughter, and hearing such things would probably offend her ears."

The girls chattered amongst themselves, leaving Su Xing speechless. She bit her lip, silently lowered her head, and her eyes welled up with tears.

She just wanted to find a place to hide herself as soon as possible, or take a time-reversal pill so she wouldn't have to come here today.

"Shame?" He Yinuo spoke, glancing at everyone. "Earning a living is shameful?"

Everyone was taken aback and looked up at He Yinuo.

"To be parasites on your family, to use your family's support as a source of pride, and to ridicule others for earning their own living—is this the kind of upbringing you've learned? Ha! How did your parents raise you? If they can't teach you, they should hire a tutor. It's not like they can't afford it!"

He Yinuo's eyebrows and eyes are very similar to Tao Yanyan's. When she is usually gentle and kind, she is obedient and cute. But when she gets angry, she has the pressure of a superior, and the atmosphere immediately turns cold.

Alarm bells rang in Su Yue's mind, and she felt a lingering fear.

He Yinuo looked directly at Su Yue: "We're both surnamed Su, blood is thicker than water. I never expected that Miss Su would be so mean to her own sister. She doesn't pity her sister for losing her parents at a young age, but she loves to expose her sister's pain in front of outsiders and even mocks her sister for earning money by herself as a shameful thing. Being sisters with you is really bad luck."

Su Yue's face turned pale and then red after He Yinuo's harsh words, and she was extremely embarrassed. Her girlfriends also did not expect that the princess would stand on Su Xing's side and speak up for Su Xing, so they did not dare to speak up to help Su Yue out of the predicament.

"It was my oversight that led me to say the wrong thing. I hope the princess won't be angry," Su Yue awkwardly tried to explain.

"Not thoughtful enough? I think you're overthinking it. When I, He Yinuo, make friends, I don't care about background or social status, only about character. Those who don't value family ties will not get along with me. You think you can stir up trouble with a few words? Your tricks are not up to par!"

After she finished speaking, she glanced at everyone and said, "Birds of a feather flock together. If you're not in my circle, don't try. Now get out of my sight!"

The ladies immediately curtsied and withdrew, each one looking like a little bitter gourd. They had arrived in high spirits, but left in such a sorry state.

He Yinuo rolled her eyes, then looked at Su Xing and reverted to her soft, cute bunny demeanor: "Wow, you're so amazing! You're making money for the family at such a young age! What books did you copy? Did you copy any of my future third brother-in-law's poetry collections?"

Su Xing was surprised that the Fifth Princess would not look down on her. She bit her lip and said, "Is it Xiao Bianxiu's poetry collection? I copied it. I copied more than thirty volumes."

He Yinuo laughed and said, "It's all thanks to you copying his poetry collection that his talent was able to spread and become known to the world. My mother said that this kind of behavior of promoting civilization should be praised, and you copyists are also torchbearers of civilization."

Su Xing's eyes lit up for a moment. She didn't expect that copying books would be praised like this. Her originally depressed mood was healed by these few words, and she instantly felt that what she was doing was a very meaningful job.

"Princess, you are so lovable. No wonder you are the most favored princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty." Su Xing said with a blush and starry eyes.

He Yinuo raised an eyebrow, tilted her head at a 45-degree angle, revealing her round chin, and said smugly, "That's right, I'm loved by everyone, and flowers bloom for me. There's no one in the world who doesn't like me. If there are, it's because they don't know how to appreciate me."

Su Xing chuckled; it was the first time she had ever met a confident young girl like He Yinuo.

On the other side, Su Yue was in a bad mood after being rebuked by the Fifth Princess. When the Second Madam Su came to find her, she took her to meet the Princess Consort of Yu. Because the other party was a member of the royal family, she appeared somewhat uneasy.

Princess Yu glanced at her indifferently, showing no interest in the daughter of this minor official.

Madam Su praised her daughter to the skies, but it didn't arouse the slightest interest from Princess Yu. The mother and daughter had no choice but to slink away.

"Look at you! When we came here, we told you to behave well, but why can't you say a word? You're like a block of wood, so stingy!" Madam Su was furious.

Su Yue's eyes were slightly red, knowing that she had messed things up today, and the invitation she had worked so hard to get was now wasted.

"It's all Su Xing's fault. I don't know what she did to catch the Fifth Princess's eye. The two of them got along very well, and I even got scolded by the Fifth Princess. It seriously affected my daughter's composure."

Upon hearing this, Madam Su's voice rose two decibels: "You...you're saying she's gotten close to the Fifth Princess?"